Baruch student studies business, makes music

“I don’t know where I go, but I don’t lay low, no no no no no no.” Gabe Ayzenberg doesn’t want to be boxed in. His language is littered with the slang words of club songs, his hair tousled and eyes tired. A Baruch College sophomore currently majoring in business, Ayzenberg makes music in his spare time, putting out tracks under the pseudonyms “traplordgabe” and “G-Trill.”

On his SoundCloud, Ayzenberg classifies the eight tracks he’s released over the past year as hip-hop and rap, though he offers, “That’s for people to find out themselves, you know, what kind of category it is.” In his latest track, “Oh My,” the student artist sings, “Oh my, I’m just gonna grind/Never gonna stop ‘till I go and get what’s mine.”

It is an oft-remarked fact that Baruch is both a commuter school and a primarily business-oriented place of education, where finding a connection to the arts can be difficult. However, for those who are interested, opportunities can be found. Ayzenberg sometimes spends time in the WBMB Radio club suite, but his music creation happens outside of that space.

Ayzenberg appreciates the collaborative aspects to creating music, but he says, “There is no community with this shit. It’s not a club; you can’t join it. If you could, that would be easy.” He takes inspiration from the artists around him in the various music interests they have: “It’s kind of like the world gives it to you.” When it comes to working with others, Ayzenberg prefers a producer over a songwriter as he looks for other creators that he can help and who can help him back

As “G-Trill,” Ayzenberg releases tracks that tend to fit a similar pattern: Open with a unique piece of music — usually based in high electronic pitch — for about 15 seconds, followed by a looped track with a regular beat, accompanied by sound effects and vocal trills, while Ayzenberg recites lyrics with wordplay and quick bursts of rhyme.

“Take a second/Take a look/ Read me like a book/Are you shook/That you should just buy a Nook,” he raps on “Gang With Me,” his most-viewed song on YouTube, with over 500 hits. Ayzenberg’s music has a modest following — his highest social media metric can be found in his 1,924 Instagram followers — but he’s still moving. “I’m doing it now and I’m gonna do it forever and I’m only getting better,” he says.

What moves Ayzenberg in his music? “I have no clue,” he responds. “I just say how I feel and I say what I believe and I say what I know, and if you fuck with it, cool.” There’s not much money to be made in the music, though Ayzenberg has music available on iTunes and Spotify. Music is a way for him to do what he loves and seek a sense of truth.

For the future, he doesn't have much of a plan. “If you keep your enthusiasm, you’re only going to become relevant,” he says. “Your shit could be trash, but if you’re relevant, like, people are listening to your shit because you’re relevant.” For Ayzenberg, relevance is about name recognition and finding a space where his voice is sought out. He’s on his way.